Question of the Day

Have you been impacted by the government shutdown?

Parliament dissolved in advance of elections LONDON — In a prelude to general elections just 31/2 weeks away, Britains Parliament was formally dissolved yesterday by proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II, while Prime Minister Tony Blair and his opponent, William Hague, slugged it out on the campaign trail.In a day that saw bare-knuckles politicking mix with centuries-old pomp and circumstance, Londons sergeant at arms, known as the Common Crier, briefly brought traffic in the citys financial district to a halt by reading out the queens proclamation from the steps of the Royal Exchange.

Koizumi defends plans to visit shrineTOKYO — Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday defended plans to visit a shrine to Japans fallen soldiers, brushing off calls by the opposition to refrain because convicted war criminals are among the memorialized.Mr. Koizumis promise to visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of the countrys surrender in World War II, has attracted criticism from Asian neighbors.Past visits by senior Japanese politicians have infuriated China, South Korea and other countries that were the targets of Japanese aggression.

Divers find fossil fish, put it on WebJOHANNESBURG — The Paleozoic era met the Internet age yesterday when South African divers filmed a coelacanth — an ancient bony fish — more than 330 feet down and then beamed the images to the World Wide Web.The digital photos were beamed to the Web after the camera was brought to the surface. Anyone interested in catching a glimpse of the fossil fish can do so on www.world-stream.com. Coelacanths have been swimming the seas for around 400 million years and were thought to have been long extinct until one was caught by a fishing boat off South Africa in 1938.

Clinton still planning the rest of his lifeOSLO — Bill Clinton gave a speech for $150,000 and met Norwegian political leaders yesterday and said he was still trying to decide what to do with the rest of his life.He met Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and discussed world poverty and AIDS in between signing autographs and shaking hands in central Oslo. Mr. Clinton is popular in Norway and was the first sitting U.S. president to visit the country, in 1999."Im trying to take these first few months out of office to organize the rest of my life," he said.He gave a speech on leadership for a fee of $150,000 as part of a tour to help pay off legal debts.

Nov. 17 announced as Kosovo election datePRISTINA, Yugoslavia — After months of political wrangling, Kosovos U.N. governor yesterday took matters into his own hands and set Nov. 17 as the date for elections to a new provincial assembly.Former Danish Defense Minister Hans Haekkerup had previously said Kosovos political leaders would need to approve a "legal framework," a blueprint for self-governing institutions and their powers, before an election date could be set.

Bomb suspect escapes from U.S. Army prisonPRISTINA, Yugoslavia — An ethnic Albanian suspected of involvement in a bus bombing that killed 11 Serbs escaped from a U.S. Army-run detention facility yesterday, a statement from the U.S. military said.Florim Ejupi, a Kosovo Albanian, was absent when guards at the main American base, Camp Bondsteel, did a routine check of the detention facility at 4:15 a.m., the statement said.